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Returning to the
Classroom after the
Election
Tweets by @UMich_CRLT
CRLT@umich
@UMich_CRLT
20 Feb you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time.
Consider the following questions:
CRLT@umich Retweeted What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?
CRLT@umich Why are they important?
@UMich_CRLT If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?
Interested in Digital Pedagogies?
CRLT and @UMichHumanities
workshop this Friday at the (2) Develop the introduction
Institute! Register at
Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific activities you will use to get
crlt.umich.edu/node/94863
students to understand and apply what they have learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different
06 Feb academic and personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a question
or activity to gauge students knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can
CRLT@umich take a simple poll: How many of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have. You can also gather background
@UMich_CRLT information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on
index cards. This additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc. When you have an idea of
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the students familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.
Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of
approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thoughtprovoking dilemma, realworld example,
short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your
introduction:
How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5 1/3
2/26/2017 Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning | CRLT
What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or
might espouse?
What will I do to introduce the topic?
(3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the
lesson)
Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (reallife examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of
more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you
will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different
applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the
learning activities you will use:
An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate students questions. When planning your
lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think
about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that
students understand.
Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each
When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take
Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points Plan
an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
Be flexible be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students needs and focus on what seems to be more productive
rather than sticking to your original plan
Conclusion
To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and every possible
classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every students response or question. Instead, it should
provide you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a
reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes
exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructor learn from each other.
Additional Resources
Online:
A concise guide to writing learning objectives that also includes examples from courses at
MIT: http://tll.mit.edu/help/teachingmaterials 0
Video clips of GSIs at the University of Michigan actively engaging students in a practice teaching session:
http://crlte.engin.umich.edu/practiceteaching/
Plan the First Day's Session: How to create to a lesson plan for the first day of class: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi guide
contents/presemesterintro/firstdayplan/
References
Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center.
Retrieved from http://ideaedu.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/Idea_Paper_42.pdf
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